


Epiphany

by HawkMoth



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Aftermath: A Christmas Carol, Gen, Written in January 2011
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-11
Updated: 2013-04-11
Packaged: 2017-12-08 05:25:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/757572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HawkMoth/pseuds/HawkMoth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Epiphany: a sudden realization or comprehension of the (larger) essence or meaning of something.</i>
</p>
<p>Christmastime can be rewritten.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Epiphany

There's a story they tell in Sardick Town.

Some tell it year-round, but most tell it around Christmastime, halfway out of the dark, at the time of the Crystal Feast.

There was a Christmas Eve full of miracles. A starship was lost in the clouds, crashing through the icy fog, but there was singing from on high, and an Angel sang as well, and the ship and all aboard were saved. 

Children say that on that very same night, they saw Father Christmas dancing on the rooftops. (And some older folks look thoughtful and say to themselves, yes, I saw that too, one Christmas Eve a long time ago.)

The children also say that as Christmas Day dawned, Father Christmas flew through the sky in a shark-drawn carriage, with an Angel by his side. (And the older folk nod, but remind themselves there was also an elf riding along on a night they will never forget.)

And snow fell on Sardick Town that wonderful day, and the fish swam about in delight, and snowmen appeared in the streets like magic. (Some children say Father Christmas built them.)

And on that particular Christmas morning, agents from the Tower called upon a poor family, and brought them into the presence of Kazran Sardick himself. Isabella Pettigrew, who kept her family name even when she was married to Benjamin; and her son, and his children, weren't detained long and left with sorrowful steps. They returned home, packed up their few possessions, and went back, their faces full of resolution and hope. Isabella was given charge of the Tower household, and her son became foreman of the factories, and his children put into the charge of the finest tutors.

On that very same day, other agents went about the town, from house to house, door to door, family to family. Old contracts were voided, and new ones drawn up. The spirit of change rang throught the streets as the snow fell, and children laughed, and songs were sung. Families once bereft and beholden were free to dream and make plans for the future.

Craftsmen and artificers were called to the Tower, and labored for some days. Finally, on the twelfth day, the spire came alive, shooting light into the icy clouds. The fog sat lighter in the streets, and fish swam higher, but still within sight.

Soon after, the President made a great proclamation, announcing a grand project. The old and seldom-used spaceport was to be restored, to entice people from other worlds to come for Christmas, the snow and the fish. A new settlement would be built alongside it, with grand hostels and shops for travellers; jobs and homes for families soon to grow as loved ones were restored to them, freed from the cold below the Tower.

And although it was named New Town, some called it Redemption, and others called it Hope. 

Isabella's grandchildren, in time declared by Old Sardick as his heirs, changed their names. The boy called himself Ichthys; the girl became known as Abigail, but they would always be Pettigrews. They both studied music, the harmonics of ice fog, wave frequencies and the ways of fish. Christmas was their favorite time of year, and they never forgot they were part of the story.

And every year when the story is told in Sardick Town, light streams from the Tower, snow falls in the streets, and the fish swim peacefully. All the children try to sing like angels. They (and the older folks) look for Father Christmas on the rooftops, and even if they can't see him, they know he's there.

******

**Author's Note:**

> How often to we find out what happened _after_ the Doctor has been somewhere? Not very.


End file.
